Coming Back
by AAnitab
Summary: Rebecca's not dead and I don't acknowledge that Lucy was missing for 50 years. Otherwise, this is how the finale should continue. It's working towards Doc/Rebecca and is Emerson/Lucy since they decided to share. Here's to hospital shippy fic.
1. Stubbornness in the Blood

Title: Coming Back

Author: AnitaB

Author's Notes: Like hell was she not coming back. Or at least that's what everyone in my head starting yelling when I finally made myself what the Alcatraz finale. So here's what happened instead. It'll end up Doc/Rebecca if the voices and I have our way. Some Emerson/Lucy too if they'll talk to me. But first, somebody's got to make it through the surgery…

Here's to hospital fic.

Oh, and I own nothing from Alcatraz and make no money. No infringement is intended.

Coming Back

By AnitaB

Chapter One: Stubbornness in the blood

He knew what it was like to lose something. He could understand completely the frustration on Hauser's back when Lucy refused to be hidden away. When she insisted on staying on the front line. It was the same frustration that he felt in every inch of his back every single time he stayed in the car while his partner, his young, petite, kickass partner chased the world's worst criminals.

But Diego knew even now that Lucy wasn't going anywhere. Just like he knew that to hold Rebecca back from chasing those criminal would never work. He knew that deep, deep in his chest. Diego couldn't even wish his amazing partner was anything other than the kickass woman she was. She would be okay. And if backing her up meant he literally had her blood on his hands, then he would figure out how to be what she needed each and every time.

And he'd start that project just as soon as she gave him that little 'it's all okay' smile from her hospital bed. Nothing else could possibly matter until that moment. He'd stand here in this waiting room for weeks if he had to until he got that smile and the strength of her tiny hand holding his.

Nothing else mattered. Diego handed Hauser the third key without the slightest wish or reluctance. All the answers he really needed were in that operating room. Hauser and Lucy could hunt down Tommy Madsen without him. They could go explore whatever answers they might find behind the bulkhead under the light house without him.

Rebecca needed him here. So here is exactly where he'd be.

As long as it took.

Hours passed. Eventually he found himself sitting while Ray took his turn pacing and holding up the walls. Diego stared down at his hands, picking at her blood under his nails. He could still feel her body in his arms. She'd tried to wrap an arm around his neck as he lifted her from the sidewalk and carried her to the front seat of her car. Rebecca had felt even tinier clinging to the front of his jacket with one hand as he'd bundled her against his chest. The first time he'd gotten his arms around her and it was because her grandfather had stabbed her in the side.

Diego hoped Hauser put a whole clip of bullets into Madsen when he found him. No amount of suffering would be enough to make up for the little pained noise Rebecca had made when he buckled her seatbelt and proceeded to break as many traffic laws as he had to on the way here.

"She's tough."

Ray stopped the same two steps from the wall he always did and turned around. "I know that. My little Rebecca has stubbornness in her blood."

Diego looked down at the evidence of that in the creases of his knuckles. /Our Rebecca.\\ He rubbed his hands together and glanced at the nurses' station. They said they'd let him know the second there was any news on her condition. But the nurse behind the counter was dodging his eyes. "She's going to pull through this. I know that."

"She'd better. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her."

/Neither do I…\\ That tiny, stubborn, amazing woman had stormed into his life and taken over every aspect of it. And no matter how hard their cases could be, no matter how ill-prepared he felt he was sometimes… he wouldn't change a minute of it before today.

Today, he'd trade anything to any devil in hell to have gotten to her side five minutes earlier. To have taken that knife for her himself if that was the only way.

Rebecca had made his life so much more than it had been before her. And he'd never gotten to tell her just how important she was…

She was going to be fine. She just had to be. "We're not losing her. Rebecca is coming back to us. I know it."

Ray turned a precise two steps from the other wall and broke his pattern. The former prison guard moved to sit across from the Alcatraz expert and comic writer. "And how are you so sure, Doc, that our Becca is coming back to us?"

Diego flinched a little at Rebecca's nickname for him on her uncle's lips. It made him wonder what the other man knew. But he couldn't know this. Not even Rebecca did. "She doesn't give up, not ever, not until she's found what she was looking for and gotten her man. Rebecca will fight like hell to get back, to get better, because she's not done yet. She hasn't gotten her answers yet, hasn't put her man in cuffs. Rebecca's coming back to us."

Ray Archer's face went still, thoughtful. And Diego suddenly remember that he'd been a cop as well as a guard and raised Rebecca mostly on his own. To have brought up such an amazing woman into an amazing cop meant the bar owner was no fool. And the closest thing his partner had to a father. Diego was suddenly uncomfortable under those eyes in a way that hours of silence and worry hadn't managed. "I think you're right, Doc. That girl of ours doesn't have any quit in her and she always gets her man."

A door on the other side of the room open and suddenly none of the awkward conversation still even existed in Diego's head. That was the ER doc who'd taken Rebecca right out of his arms.

000

He knew who came through the door by just the sudden change in Doctor Diego Soto's expression. He was a step behind in crossing the room. The Doc sure moved fast for a big fella.

"Rebecca Madsen?"

"That's us. How is she?" Ray's heart was racing in his chest. If the doctor said what he hoped to hear, then maybe he could start breathing again. If not…

"She pulled through." Relief washed through him like a flood, touching every nerve in his body. But then the doctor kept talking and his breathing stopped in his throat. "Once we got her heart restarted, she handled the surgery as well as could be expected. She's lost a lot of blood and the next few hours are critical." /Once we got her heart restarted…\\ She'd flatlined. His baby girl had … Ray felt his knees threaten to give out in the instant before a hand touched his back. He'd missed a few sentences while he'd been lost in his head and his worst nightmare. "We're giving her a transfusion to get her blood pressure back up, but right now she seems stable. We've got her all patched up, now the rest is up to her."

/Hold on, sweetheart. You have to fight.\\

His baby girl's partner was the one bracing him with one hand, the one carrying the conversation with the doctor. "When can we see her?"

"She's being transferred to a private recovery room now. But the anesthesia won't wear off for several more hours."

/I'd walk through hell just to watch her sleep.\\ He was about to say something to that effect, but the Doc beat him to it. "I don't need to question her, I need to see her. I need to touch her hand. When can I see my partner?"

"Give us a little time to get her moved and settled in. Then I'll have a nurse take the two of you to Ms. Madsen. You can see her for a few minutes, then we should let her rest."

"Whatever you say, Doctor. We'll be waiting." Ray let Doc lead the way back to their chairs and watched as he promptly buried his head in his hands. The big man took in a shaky breath and muttered the word 'restarted' several times under his breath. Now he braced the other man, rubbing a hand over his back. "He said 'restarted.' We almost lost her already."

"But we didn't lose her. She pulled through." He took a deep breath and reached deep for the words. "Our Rebecca's one hell of a fighter. You got her here fast and the doctors got her through the surgery. She's not gonna give up now."

"I should have been there, Ray. I'm her partner and I didn't get to her in time."

/Silly boy.\\ Ray had heard exactly how tight that timeline had been. This man had arrived at the scene of the stabbing on Tommy's heels. "You are the only reason Rebecca didn't bleed out on the street where he left her. You already saved her life. And she's going to need you during the recovery. Don't start doubting yourself now."

"I won't let her down again, I promise you that."

Ray remembered the tones in Rebecca's voice every time she'd mentioned her new partner in conversation. She'd started trusting and depending on him faster than any other partner she'd ever had. "I don't think you've ever let her down."

Doc was clearly about to argue when a nurse appeared at his side with a large Ziploc bag in her hands. "Ms. Madsen is settled in and ready for visitors. Here are her possessions."

Doc beat him to the bag, digging out her badge to clutch in one hand like a talisman. "Take us to her, please."

Ray found himself trailing Diego Soto and the nurse through the building, watching thick fingers rub back and forth over her name and number imprinted in brass. Yes, Rebecca would be coming back to them. Because there wasn't a chance in hell of her partner letting her go. Ray would be surprised if security managed to pry the man from her bedside in the next twelve hours.

His little girl was in good hands. Not that he wasn't going to keep an eye on the situation himself. If his little girl had finally found the guy who could keep up with her, he wasn't about to miss a minute of it. It was going to be one hell of a show.

But before anything could happen, his little girl needed to wake up and make a full recovery. He needed to see her, give her a kiss on the forehead, and hold her hand. Then he needed to take a step back and let Doctor Diego Soto do all of those things. And as hard as it would be, maybe then he should run a few errands and give the man some time alone with her. Rebecca would be here awhile in the best of healing rates. There were some things she'd need from her apartment.

"Rebecca…" Doc's steps suddenly hurried and Ray's heart caught the new rhythm and hurried in time. He turned the corner into the room just in time to see Doc clutch her hand between his own and claim a chair at her side. "I'm so sorry, Rebecca. But I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere."

Yeah, there was a good possibility that Doc wasn't going anywhere for a very, very long time. /That's my little girl.\\

000


	2. Pins and Needles

Oh, and I own nothing from Alcatraz and make no money. No infringement is intended.

Coming Back

By AnitaB

Chapter Two: Pins and Needles

She rolled over while she was still half asleep, to get the light out of her eyes and go back sleep for a little longer.

Well, she tried to roll over when the only partially dulled pain stabbed the nerves of her stomach. /Ouch, fresh stitches.\\ She hated the feeling of fresh stitches. It was always like her insides were trying to spill out and the sharp tug of thread was the only thing in the way.

Even through what was clearly a nice sized dose of painkiller, Rebecca's body told her in no uncertain terms to stop fucking moving. Now she was a little closer to being awake, but only a little. /Those must be some niiiice drugs.\\ Rebecca couldn't open her eyes just yet, but the light was bright enough through her eye lids that she could only be in the hospital. The nurses had covered her with possibly the scratchiest sheets in the world and the pillow was too flat.

And there was a whispered but somehow urgent conversation going on nearby.

"You're not understanding me. This isn't a request. You're making whatever calls it takes to let me stay with her. I want at least one cop downstairs until she's released. And if she's not awake in two days you will pull out whatever science trick or miracle you dug up for Lucy. I'm not waiting weeks to get my partner back when you might have a cure behind some secret locked door."

Doc's voice stopped and Rebecca could just barely hear the muffled sounds of the other voice on the other end of the phone. Must be Hauser and he wasn't too happy to have his civilian expert ordering him around. "No, I'm not leaving her alone. Her uncle's running errands and packing her a bag. He'll be back soon. I've got my laptop if you and Lucy want my opinion on anything you've found under the lighthouse. Yeah, look, I've got to go. Her nurse is here and I want an update. Call me later."

The click of the call ending made her smile gently against the pillowcase. /Way to go, Doc.\\ Then a familiar hand touched hers, big hands warming her fingers between both his palms. "How is she?"

"Let's take a look and find out."

Doc was safe. He could touch her. But some random nurse she'd never even laid eyes on? No way. "She's awake, so why don't we just ask her?"

His grip tightened in the moments before she even tried to get her eyes open. Then she felt his fingers against her cheek, brushing back her hair behind her ear. "Rebecca… open your eyes for me." He sounded so sad and so relieved at the same time. She fought the drug lethargy and the bright lights to meet his anxious eyes. "There's my girl. How do you feel?"

"Like I've got fresh stitches." She nuzzled her cheek into his palm and tightened her fingers around his. "Do I want to know how many?"

He smiled and she felt just a little better. "You might want to know, but I don't. Let Susan here check you out and we'll call your Uncle Ray with the good news."

He would feel better if she let the nurse do her job even if all she wanted to do was lay here still enough to not hurt and talk to her partner. "Okay, let's get the bad part over with then you can catch me up on the case."

"There's no bad part to you waking up this morning." His face twisted and the hand holding hers both tightened and trembled. There was more to all this than she knew about. And Doc wasn't going to tell her a damn thing until the nurse left the room.

"Okay, Susan. It's pincushion time. Do your worst because I need to get out of here ASAP."

"That's what the cops always say, Honey. And by the badge your partner's worn to a stub, you're very much a cop." The nurse had the gall to reach for the hand Doc was currently holding, making him let go of her for something as paltry as a pulse rate.

And Doc wouldn't let her threaten the woman with her gun because that would be rude. "Just hurry up, okay?" The wrist Susan had dangling in midair was cold and it ached for Doc's grip.

"Your pulse is good. Blood pressure's not quite where we want it but better than the last time I checked." So this was the woman she'd continue to resent for the rest of her stay. Rebecca caught the faint smile on Doc's lips and the little shaking of his head. He read her far too well sometimes. "Turn on your side just a little and I'll check your stitches."

The thought of moving even a little was not a pleasant one until Doc gave her an arm and helped brace her knee with his other hand. Rebecca found herself clinging to his wrist with a little pained sound as Susan opened her bandages and poked at what felt like a few miles worth of stitches. "Shh, Rebecca, I'm here." Doc's grip loosened just enough to rub at her thigh and her fingers tightened on his other hand. "I've got you."

The nurse finished poking the wound and re-bandaged it. Then Doc helped her settle back onto the bed and tried to pull back. Rebecca decided that wasn't really the plan and twined her fingers through his. She was keeping that hand, it made everything just a little better. His eyes snapped to her face with a look of worry that turned into a warm smile. Then Doc shifted his chair closer to the side of her bed so that his arm could rest slightly across her hip without making her twist at the waist to keep her grip.

"Okay, Ms. Madsen, things are looking good. But I do want you to get more rest and drink lots of fluids. You have lost a lot of blood and that will catch up with you if you overdo it."

"I'll keep her in line. And thank you, Susan."

Rebecca waited until the scrubs disappeared out her door to start the questions. Or that was the plan until Doc squeezed her hand and pressed the back of it to his cheek. "I'll fill you in on everything, but only after you promise to follow all of the doctors' and nurses' advice." His nuzzled his lips against the back of her hand as she tried and failed to protest. "And I'm holding you to it if I'm telling you one damn thing. I lost you once, Rebecca, I refuse to lose you again."

She'd been about to argue, or maybe just override him entirely until the pain in his face and his words clicked in her head. "Lost me once?"

He swallowed so hard she could feel the muscles move against the back of her wrist. His eyes fell closed and his hands shook. "You died on the operating table and they brought you back."

/Doc…\\ Rebecca fought the twinge in her side to close her free hand in the front of his jacket. Pulling him down to wrap her arms around his neck was easy. "I'm here, Doc. You're not losing me and I'm not going anywhere. I'm here." Her fingers closed in his hair, holding him closer as his breath hitched against her neck. "We're gonna be okay, Doc. We're gonna be fine."

He nodded against her skin, but made no effort to pull back just yet. And that was more than fine with her. This awkward hug was the best she'd felt in months.

000

She'd given him the 'it's okay' smile and a hug to boot. And Rebecca hadn't seemed at all inclined to take back her hand yet, so he just kept holding it. Now his only memory of her in his arms wasn't covered in blood and the pained little sounds on her lips. Now she'd whispered his nickname and held him close. She'd fisted one of those tiny little hands in his hair and said, 'we're gonna be fine.'

/Yes, we are, Rebecca. Yes, we are.\\

Eventually, he'd gotten his breath back enough pull out of her hug and reach for the cell phone. Her uncle Ray needed the good news first and then he had promised to catch her up on the case.

With a smile he just handed her the phone. "Ray first, then Hauser and Lucy. And then a case update … but only if you're not too tired yet."

"I'm fine, Doc." He just looked at her a moment then glanced at the hand holding the phone. It was shaking and the tremor got stronger under his gaze. "I will be fine and talking to the important people in my life is hardly stressful. Besides, you and nurse Pincushion will be watching over me like hawks."

"You're right, we will be. Now if you want to talk about the case at all today you'd better start dialing your uncle."

She glared at him but he could see the smile sneaking onto her lips. Then she shifted just enough to punch the speed dial one-handed and put the phone on speaker. Her other fingers tightened around his. "Sweetheart, is that you?"

"Yeah, Uncle Ray, it's me." Diego watched the relief and affection fill her face. "And before you ask, I'm fine. The Doctors are taking great care of me, Doc's right here if I need anything, and they've got me on some really nice drugs to take the edge off."

Diego heard Ray Archer give a low, little laugh and felt Rebecca's hand tighten on his as she laughed with him and then winced. "I'm so damn happy that you're gonna be okay, Becca. You have no idea how happy." He understood the tone of that voice perfectly. He'd felt just that combination of pain and joy when Rebecca had woken up too. "I'm standing in your living room right now, baby girl. I'll be back at the hospital in thirty minutes with your bag and anything else you want. What can I bring you?"

Other than a hug and a kiss was there in the silence between the words. Yup, Ray Archer might as well be her father instead of her great-uncle. And he expected that eventually they'd end up having a really interesting discussion when Rebecca wasn't there. "The Alcatraz books from my nightstand and some real food would be great."

Another chuckle came over the phone, but this time Rebecca didn't test her stitches by matching it. But damn did Diego love watching her smile. Today especially. "Why? You've got the author of most of them camping out at your bedside. But I'll grab them anyway. What do you want to eat?"

Diego knew that thoughtful expression. Rebecca did love food. "Hmm, what do you think, Doc? Chinese or pizza?"

"Pizza wouldn't require you to sit up as far." Diego knew by just how still she'd been that the nice drugs weren't taking care of all the pain. Rebecca was never this still. She moved, she twitched, she tapped, she paced. Right now she was shaking more than she was shifting her weight. But she was awake, aware, breathing and touching his hand. He couldn't be happier.

"And that's why you're our resident genius, Doc." She gave him another precious smile and a squeeze of her hand. Then her attention turned back to the phone. "Pizza please, uncle Ray."

"And fruit juice. The nurse wants her to drink more fluids. And the doctors said…"

"Fresh wounds mean you limit caffeine and cut out alcohol entirely for awhile. No beer or coffee for my little girl today." Ray's voice was on that edge again, the happy pain edge. "This isn't our first rodeo, Doc. Do your best to keep her from popping a stitch and I'll be there ASAP." Another low chuckle came through the speaker, widening Rebecca's smile. "And you listen up, baby girl. You're going to follow Doc's order and anything the hospital staff tell you do to too. Your word on it, Becca."

His partner rolled her eyes. But every line and curve of her face relaxed. Even her body lost a layer of tension he hadn't even realized she'd been carrying. "I promise, Uncle Ray. I won't go skateboarding down the halls on my IV stand. Love you and we'll see you soon."

"Love you back, Becca."

Diego took the phone from her hand to avoid her stretching an arm out for the side table. "That sounded like a story I want to hear." He loved the smile on her lips and the automatic attempt to duck her head.

"Maybe, but it's not that funny." He made sure his expression was the right mix of disbelief and 'tell me more' when she stopped trying to hide her embarrassed smile. "I broke my leg when I was 12 or 13… jumping my bike over the ditch behind our house. And the doctors told me not to put any weight on the cast while they were finishing up with the tests and my release paperwork and all that." The smile widened. "Uncle Ray had to go answer the nurse's questions and ordered me not to even think about walking until he got back."

"And?" Diego tightened his grip on her hand, feeling her squeeze back. "What happened next?"

"I got bored. It was taking forever and there was nothing to do in the tiny, little room the nurses had left me completely alone in." That beautiful woman gave him the 'what was I supposed to do' shrug. "They didn't want me walking, didn't want weight on my cast. So I didn't walk. I wedged the bottom of the cast in the feet of the IV stand and went to go find my uncle Ray. It's not my fault that hospitals are like mazes and it took me too long to find him." Her head ducked again. "Or that the IV stand didn't take corners too well and I fell and sprained my wrist."

She must have been even tinier and more pixie-like then. Diego could only imagine how panicked Ray Archer must have been when his baby girl disappeared out of her hospital room. "And the lesson here is… don't leave Rebecca Madsen alone and don't let her get bored. Got it." To the goal of keeping her entertained… "Now do you want a case update from me, or should we call Hauser and see what he and Lucy have found under the lighthouse behind the door the three keys opened?"

"Hmm, your updates are usually more detailed but we need to give them an update too." Rebecca came to a decision with a nod and moved as if to let go of his hand. Not that he was letting her go. Her fingers relaxed into his grip before her free hand joined in to rub over the back of his wrist. It was almost like she was cuddling into the feel of his hand. "Let's make the call and get everyone on the same page." He watched her yawn, tightening his grip and fighting a smile. It wouldn't do to give her the 'you're so cute' grin. She might think it was pity. "Before you, the hospital staff, or Uncle Ray decides it's my naptime."

000


	3. Brand new questions

Oh, and I own nothing from Alcatraz and make no money. No infringement is intended.

Coming Back

By AnitaB

Chapter Three: Brand new questions

They still had no clear answers. Not a single bloody thing made more sense now than it had in the previous fifty some odd years they'd been working together on this mystery. All they had found all those hours ago were questions they hadn't even known they needed to ask.

Just staring at the map with little pins showing reappearing 63's all over the world had made her throat close up. She could have reappeared anywhere, hundreds or thousands of miles from San Francisco. Hundreds or thousands of miles away from Emerson. She could have lost extra years or even decades before she managed to get home to him. Maybe in that extra time, whoever had done this to all of them would have succeeded in programming her like they had the guard or the formerly innocent prisoner.

Maybe she wouldn't have made it back at all. So many 63's were still missing even if every single one of those pins did represent a return site and not simply a sighting.

Lucy found herself gravitating to his side half unconsciously, standing to cross the room and join him in front of that damned map. "Emerson?"

More of her thoughts must have gotten into his name than she'd intended by the way he glanced down at her. Then Lucy found herself tucked under his arm, cuddled into the warm strength of his chest. "I would have found you, Lucy. You would have found your way home to me." Emerson pulled her closer, wrapping her in the heat of his arms and the warmth of one hand on her cheek. "No matter how far they sent you, they couldn't have kept us apart for long."

"Not without one hell of fight, Emerson. I know that." Lucy felt the tightness in her chest ease up just a bit. She followed the strength of his arms up and he leaned down to help cross the height difference. The soft, warm press of lips was as sweet as it had ever been. Wrapping both arms around his neck, Lucy deepened the kiss to the tightening of his arms and a low sweet groan. "And you know that we fight infinitely better together than we do apart."

Strong fingers clenched on her back as Emerson rested his forehead against hers with a resigned sigh. "I still think you'd be safer if you let me take you away for awhile. But since you're determined to stay, I'll just have to keep you close enough to keep you safe."

Lucy relaxed even as she dragged him into a deeper, tongue tangling kiss. "When have I ever objected to being close to you, Emerson?" She smiled up at him, sliding her fingers through his hair. "By now you should understand that I'm not going anywhere without you. Not ever again."

"That's my stubborn Lucille." Emerson's arms tightened around her, his lips curving in her favorite smile before he leaned down obviously planning to give her a kiss. But when her favorite lips were only an inch from hers, Emerson's phone started ringing. "Damnit, someone's got bad timing." He finished dipping his head just long enough to brush warm lips over hers before one hand left her back to reach for the phone. He kept her pinned to his ribs and punched the phone into speaker mode before growling, "Hauser," into the air next to her cheek.

He loved feeling her react in his arms, pulling her a little closer when she shivered.

"Who pissed you off today? And did you hide the body so I don't have to fill out the paperwork?" Rebecca Madsen's voice came out of the speaker, alive, awake, and just as sarcastic as ever. /Oh, thank god.\\

The body in her arms lost that same layer of tension she felt fall away from her own back. Emerson would never admit it out loud, not even to her, but he did care about and like 'the children.' He was even smiling not that anyone other than her would hear it in his voice. "Madsen, you awake yet?"

"Unless your cell carrier covers the afterlife or dreamland, yeah I'd think so." Her voice paused with a little hitch in her breathing. "Don't squeeze so hard, Doc, I thought it was funny."

"Well, I side with Dr. Soto. That wasn't at all funny, Rebecca." Lucy didn't bother to keep her smile out of her voice. She was fine with the children knowing she cared. "And I'm very happy to hear your voice, dear. How are you doing?"

"The nurses are annoying and the doctors are too busy. But I'm fine and Doc's taking good care of me." A low chuckle came through the phone, followed by a quiet but pained noise.

"When she lets me. Her uncle's bringing food and then it'll be time for her nap." Lucy could practically hear Dr Soto glaring the woman into submission over the phone. "Ray made her promise to take orders for awhile and I'm holding her to her word."

Emerson smiled, though only Lucy would recognize the fondness in the curve of his lips. "She doesn't take orders too well, Soto. I don't envy you the task of getting her obedience."

The Alcatraz expert gave them a quick laugh. "Right now she's too weak to put up much of a struggle. I think it'll be a harder job in a few more days. For that matter, I promised her a case update. So where are we on finding Tommy Madsen?"

Now a little tension came back to Emerson's body. That was something she recognized from decades living and working next to this man. That was guilt and failure. This man was, at heart, still the idealistic cop who believed in helping people. He felt guilty that he failed to catch the man who hurt his people. "He's in the wind." Emerson tightened his arm around her side and turned them both for a view of the map. "But we might have found a new way to track them. All of them."

"All of them?" Rebecca's interest was sharp, they could both hear rustling like the woman on the other end of the phone was trying to sit up. Then something she'd almost call a growl except for the fact that it came from Dr. Soto. And that man didn't seem to ever get angry.

"Don't you dare try to sit up, Rebecca. Your uncle said I'm responsible if you pop your stitches." There was more rustling and the scrape of a chair moving against the floor. The conversation paused for a few heartbeats while the good doctor got his patient resettled and then it was his voice that came back. "Hauser, what do you mean by that?"

Emerson gave her a quick glance to say 'should I?' and then returned her nod along with a small shrug. "Lucy and I are standing under the lighthouse. There's a map of the United States covered with pins that we think represent the return sites of the 63's. And they're everywhere. Someone's been tracking them as long or longer than we have and they must have the technology to do it. We think it has to do with the silver in their blood."

"Silver in their…blood?" Lucy found herself smiling at the yawn in the middle of Rebecca's question. "Was that the secret cure Doc was… going to make you drag out for me?"

Emerson looked just a little surprised. But Lucy wasn't surprised at all. "You chose her for more than her family history, Emerson. Yes, Dear, it was prisoner blood with colloidal silver that finally woke me from my coma. And that your Doc was demanding if you didn't wake up as quickly as we'd hoped for."

"That's right and that's fascinating. But Rebecca needs to eat and rest and she won't do either one with a mystery to solve. Is there anything you've found that won't keep for say… twelve hours?" Dr. Soto held enough determination in his voice that Rebecca didn't even argue past one little whine of his nickname.

Lucy felt Emerson about to speak and knew it wouldn't be something useful by the look on his face. "Of course everything can wait twelve hours. You two just take care of each other and we'll be by to visit tomorrow. We can give you a full update then." Lucy tapped Emerson on the chest with a 'behave yourself' look.

"I think that's a great idea. Say goodnight, Rebecca."

"Don't make me hurt you, Doc."

"Don't make me make you laugh, Rebecca."

Lucy just shook her head at the children and stole the phone out of Emerson's hand. "Rest up, you two, and we'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight." Ending the call, she slid the phone into his jacket pocket and met his smile with one of her own. "Don't say anything about 'the children'. But I am curious as to what you were going to tell Dr. Soto about 12 hours."

She loved that extra little twist in that smile. "That even if we didn't feed him, he'd keep that long."

"I love you, you idiot." Lucy leaned into his arms for the kiss the phone call had interrupted, making sure it was worth the wait.

Eventually, they did require air and Emerson was still smiling when he lifted his head. "I love you too, my stubborn Lucille."

000

He'd never seen anything so beautiful in his life. It was better than her Police Academy graduation, better than sight of her in her dress for senior prom. It was more heartwarming than the memory of holding her tight after the funeral, of the return of her smiles in the months and years afterward. His Rebecca had never looked more beautiful. Even as pale and weak she was. Her hands were shaking and she was lying so very still. But she was here, and she was alive and awake and going to get better. She'd never in her life been so beautiful.

And then his baby girl noticed him standing in her doorway and gave him a wide, cheerful smile. It somehow made her even more gorgeous. "Hey, baby girl."

"Uncle Ray." Her hands were shaking less as she reached out to him. Her back went just a little straighter. It took all his self control to set down the pizza boxes and the bags carefully and not just drop them. Ray forced his hands to function for a few more seconds to get the stuff out of his way so he could go get that hug. His feet led the way to her bedside without any orders from his brain. His arms were in on the conspiracy, wrapping around her shoulders carefully as her arms curled around his neck. /My baby girl…\\ Now he was the one shaking as he pulled her closer. "It's okay. I'm fine, Uncle Ray, I'm gonna be fine."

He had to believe that or it was going to be his heart that stopped. "You better believe it, my Becca. 'Cause I'm not settling for anything less than perfect damn health." Ray treasured the feeling of her short little laugh against his ear, pulling back just enough to press a kiss to her forehead and meet her smile with one of his own. Neither one of them needed to mention the level of shininess in both their eyes. "And I'm not above beating you a little to keep that healing on track, young lady."

"You never spanked me once in my whole life." Rebecca shifted enough to give him one hand when he claimed a chair next to her bed. Ray pretended not to notice that she also reached out the other hand to her partner blindly, their fingers intertwining very naturally. "I don't think you're going to try it now."

"You never scared me this badly when you were younger." He warmed those tiny fingers between his own, unable to look at her for a moment. "During your operation, the doctors said you—"

Her grip tightened, cutting him off and leading his eyes back to her face. "Doc told me already. But I'm here, Uncle Ray. I'm fine and I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"

"Okay, baby girl. But I reserve the right to be scared and overprotective for awhile." Ray found himself smiling at the comfort and love on her face. "Just so you're prepared."

"You're not the only one." Rebecca's eyes slid to her other side, leading Ray's eyes to the big man ducking his head and blushing while never once letting go of Rebecca's hand. "Doc's on a first name basis with all my nurses and doctors. I think he's read my chart more than my whole medical team combined. He even cut off Hauser mid-briefing because I looked a little tired."

Rebecca was looking at him. But Diego Soto was looking at her. And what Ray saw in his face… "You're in good hands, then. That makes me happy."

"Very good hands. And some of those very good hands brought me pizza from one of my favorite places. It would be rude of me to let it get cold."

"How could I forget… my baby girl is always hungry." Ray stood, brushed a kiss against her forehead, and made himself let go of her hand. "Coming right up."

The little table took only a few minutes to fill with plates of pizza and bottles of juice. While he was setting it up, he was unabashedly listening to the conversation behind him.

"Doc, help me sit up a little more." Diego's silence said more than words that he thought this was a bad idea. "Just a little, Doc, please."

"One popped stitch and I'm laying the bed flat for 24 hours." There was a scraping sound as the chair was pushed back. "Hold on tight and say when." Ray turned to watch. Rebecca had both arms curled around the big man's neck. Her partner, in kind, slid one arm behind her back and the other under her knees. "Ready?" She nodded a yes and tightened her grip as Diego scooted her several inches higher in the bed until she tapped a hand twice on his shoulder. "There?"

"That's good." Diego settled her back down, fluffing the pillow as he started to pull back. Then before Ray's eyes, Rebecca pressed a 'thank you' kiss to Diego's cheek. Rebecca wasn't positioned right to see the look on the big man's face at the little gesture. But Ray was. And he watched the big man's body go almost painfully still and unconsciously lean into the contact. It was written all over his face, from clenched eyes and shaking hands to bitten lip and furrowed brow. Every inch of Diego Soto was focused completely on the touch of Rebecca's lips to his skin like his whole world was in that tiny touch.

/That man is in love with my baby girl.\\

"Thanks, Doc." Then Diego seemed to shake it off, to pull it back. By the time he'd pulled his hands out from around her and reclaimed his chair at her bedside, even Ray couldn't see the emotion on his face anymore. And he was looking for it. Rebecca wouldn't have a chance to read anything past partner- and friendship.

"It's what I'm here for, partner. Apple or orange?" There wasn't even a hint of that need or pain in his voice. That man was good. And that might be a problem. Because Rebecca was brilliant in her own right, but not in the habit of turning that microscope on her nearest and dearest.

"Apple, please."

/That man is in love with my baby girl and she doesn't have a damn clue.\\ Something just had to be done about all this.

Ray knew he was smiling as he watched Diego twist off the cap and pass Rebecca the bottle. Next the big man adjusted her plate, smiled at her again, and only then set himself up with a plate and the orange juice.

/Yup, they're going to need somebody's help.\\

000


	4. Hot and Cold

Oh, and I own nothing from Alcatraz and make no money. No infringement is intended.

Coming Back

By AnitaB

Chapter 4: Hot and Cold

Sometime after dinner, Rebecca finally gave into the drugs and the weakness and relaxed enough to fall asleep. Still holding his hand of course. It wasn't like he minded. He'd be happy to hold her hand as much as she'd let him. Diego smiled a little sadly. He shouldn't let himself get addicted to her warmth. His Rebecca was one of the most staunchly independent people he'd ever met. As she recovered, he probably wouldn't be allowed to stay as close to her as he wanted. She wouldn't always want to hold his hand, wouldn't want or accept his help in that physical a way. He shouldn't let himself learn to expect the feel of her in his arms or the touch of her lips to his skin. But it might already be too late. He was thoroughly addicted to this amazing woman, his beautiful partner.

Diego Soto should pull back from her now, not just because there was no way in hell he'd be allowed to stay so close for long. But because he needed to deal with the withdrawal from her heat while she was still off-balance enough to not notice him doing it. His partner wasn't anything less than brilliant. Rebecca would figure him out in five minutes flat if he hadn't gotten himself back to normal before she got back to full strength. The look that would be on her face when she did… The way she would push him away… the mixture of rejection and pity he would see in her eyes…

The only thing that scared him more than ruining what he already had with Rebecca if she figured out he wanted more… well that had almost happened when she was in surgery. She'd survived. Now he had to figure out how to do the same.

Diego had to relearn how to keep that distance between his heart and his head. It was something he needed to start working on.

Tomorrow.

Tonight he was going to cuddle that warmth closer. He was going to let himself remember the brief but amazing heat of her lips against his cheek. He was going to relive the grip of her arms around him and the trust she gave him by letting him put his arms around her. Tonight he was going to take advantage of the dark and the quiet to let himself mourn and hope for something he knew he could never really have. He lifted Rebecca's hand and buried his lips against the pulse in her wrist. So strong and so tiny. So precious and so out of reach. Diego closed his eyes and nuzzled his cheek into her palm, trying to memorize the feel of her skin against his.

Because tomorrow he had to learn to let her go again. But not until tomorrow.

She shifted in her sleep, moving just a little closer to his side of the bed. Her fingers moved, glancing over his lips. The second pass of her fingers over his lower lip almost felt deliberate. But Diego's eyes were locked on her face and it was more than clear that his Rebecca was still fast asleep. He cradled her hand closer and kissed each of her fingertips before burying his lips into the middle of her palm. /Rebecca…\\

"Hmm, Doc." Her hand moved in his grip, cupping against his face as her lips curved under his eyes. Rebecca was smiling and trying to get closer to him, whispering his name… all fast asleep. He touched his free hand to her leg when she tried to move closer. If her stitches pulled and she woke with a gasp of pain, he had no idea how to explain what he was doing with her hand. The plan was to brace her, keep her still until she settled deeper into sleep. It wasn't for her free hand to cover his on her leg. It wasn't for her to twine their fingers together and cuddle that hand against her heart with a soft little sigh. "Closer, Doc. Warm."

His heart stopped in his chest but his body was already responding to her grip and her sleepy words. Diego was leaning closer, eyes helplessly locked to her face. Praying she wouldn't wake up, he let himself steal a few more moments of her heat, of the belief that maybe, just maybe she felt like this when she wasn't asleep, wasn't injured and weak. "Rebecca," Diego leaned down and pressed a small but desperate kiss to her cheek.

He had to pull back. He had to pull back now. He couldn't wait until morning, or it wouldn't be pain from her stitches waking her. It would be the desperate man at her bedside pulling her into his arms and begging her to want him back.

It was so hard to drag himself away from her skin, to pull his hands from hers and put more than a foot of cold air between himself and the edge of her bed. But it had to be done. And it had to be done right the hell now.

Diego ignored the little shiver and sound of protest she made when the last inch of his skin left hers, pausing only long enough to tuck the blankets higher around her shoulders. Then he dragged his eyes from her face and made his feet take him to the window to stare out at San Francisco at night. He had to do better than this. Diego couldn't let his emotions make him fail his partner. He had to be strong for her.

But he needed something. If he was going to be here for her and not let her know how he really felt, he needed something of her to hold close. Diego drew in a shaking breath and moved to the messenger bag sitting against the wall. It wasn't like he hadn't drawn her before, but this wasn't for his comic about their cases. This one would be for him, a little part of his Rebecca that only he would see. This one would be the Rebecca that cuddled him closer in her dreams and whispered her name for him in her sleep. This sketch would be his Rebecca, the one he could hope cared about him the same way he cared about her.

And he had to finish the sketch before she woke up so he could be back at her side like he promised.

000

The pain was less. The stitches somehow felt more solid and less 'string holding in guts' than yesterday. But this morning she was both warmer and colder than before. She knew she was in the hospital. And while she was wrapped tightly in the blankets, her fingers were freezing. Something was missing and his name was Doc. /Where's my Doc?\\

Rebecca kept her eyes closed and let cold fingers search towards the edge of the bed. Maybe he'd fallen asleep. Maybe Hauser needed him for a consult. But he'd promised he wasn't going anywhere and Doc had never broken a promise to her. He should be right here, should be keeping her warm with a strong grip and a friendly distraction. /Doc?\\

Chilled fingertips flinched at the contact with the cold railing of her bed. If Doc were still here there'd be lingering warmth on the bedding, in the metal of the frame. Rebecca drew in a breath and slowly forced her eyes open. If he wasn't here… she'd be fine. Of course she would be. But the world that had been getting slowly steadier since its recent upside down turn by way of the stabbing would feel a little less solid without her partner in arm's length.

And if he was further away than that… Well, it would be a cold day in hell before she let nurse Pincushion touch her as freely as she let Doc. Rebecca let her eyes adjust fully before she started the slow process of turning onto her back. She wanted to see what was important enough to move Doc more than a few feet from her side. /Good,\\ There he was. Doc was still here, just a little further away than she'd like.

He was sitting at the foot of her bed, sketching something very, very intently. Otherwise the mere rustle of her sheets would have brought his full attention to her. Along with his eyes. And maybe his arms around her as he helped her sit up. His hand holding hers, warming every single nerve in her body.

She'd never been jealous of art supplies before. Then Doc frowned at the paper and licked the tip of one finger, smudging at something very carefully. "What are you drawing?"

He flinched, then ducked his head and blushed so red the white of his knuckles made sense in a blood supply kind of way. "Rebecca…" Jealousy and puzzlement were at war inside her. Rebecca wanted to see the picture and hated it at the same time. Doc would be up here holding her hand if it wasn't taking him away from her. "How…how do you feel?" The sketchpad was firmly and suddenly closed and tucked behind him as Doc came to his feet and back to her bedside.

He was almost close enough. Rebecca automatically stretched out a hand for his when he reached the railing. Doc hesitated a moment that felt like a year before sinking into his traditional chair and intertwining their fingers warmly. The moment he'd just looked at her hand… that hurt almost more than the stitches, putting a weird ache between her ribs. "I'm… I'm okay. What were you working on?"

Now Doc wasn't looking at her and his face was hard to read and still flushed. "It's… it's nothing. Are you thirsty? Hungry? Should I get your nurse?"

What was wrong with him? He knew by now that as far as Rebecca cared the entire nursing staff could take the week off. If she had her way, Doc would be the only one to lay a hand on her until she got discharged. And something he called 'nothing' was enough to pull him away and set their balance off this far… "Doc, are you feeling okay? Something's… off."

"I'm fine. We're fine, Rebecca. I…" He stopped, rubbing his free hand over the back of his neck and looking away a moment. "I'm just a little tired… didn't get much sleep last night." That free hand curved over the back of hers, lifting her hand up to press her knuckles to his cheek. "You keep getting better and everything's going to be absolutely fine. Back to normal in no time."

There was something in his face, in the lines of his body at the word normal that just prickled at her nerves. Doc wasn't fine. He was hiding from her, pulling away even as he cradled her hand warm between his own. She didn't want him pulling away. She wanted him closer. Back to normal would mean losing some of this closeness. Two weeks ago, Doc would never have twined their fingers together so naturally. She'd never have curled her arms around his neck or kissed him on the cheek.

Two weeks ago she hadn't known just how much a simple touch of his fingers could make her feel safe, warm. Rebecca opened her mouth, not yet sure what she was going to say but needing to say something. "Doc…"

A sharp rapping sound broke the eye contact when they both looked at the door. "Madsen, permission to enter?"

Hauser stood in the doorway, his usual dower expression on his face. But somehow she knew he was happier to see her than he seemed. "Of course, we'd like visitors. Is Lucy with you?"

"Right here, dear. How are you feeling?" Lucy was much more obviously emotional, smiling as she moved forward to claim the open chair. Dark eyes examined her quickly but thoroughly before skipping sharply to the side to do the same to Doc. Rebecca found herself following the gaze. He hadn't slept at all, had he? And he was deliberately not looking at anyone in the room… like he was hiding something.

Her partner was hiding from her and that was so not okay. "I'm doing better, Lucy."

"Good. You're certainly looking better, if a little tired. Have your doctors approved you for coffee?"

Lucy had something more than caffeine in mind. And frankly, Rebecca was all for a little assistance right now. "Yes, but not as much as I'm used to."

"You cops and your coffee…" Lucy smiled, a bright disarming curve of lips as she looked over her shoulder at Hauser. "Emerson, dear. Would you get all of us some coffee and something to eat, please? Oh, take Dr. Soto with you to help carry the food. You know what Rebecca likes well enough, don't you, Diego?"

He seemed almost shocky for a second. "Yeah, of course I do." Rebecca let go of his hand as he started to stand up. But it almost hurt to think about letting him get too far. "Anything you need first, Rebecca?"

Apparently he was a little reluctant to be out of arm's length too. Well, she'd take what she could get. "Help me sit up a bit?" Doc just nodded and leaned down to curl his arms under her knees and behind her back. She curled her arms around his neck more for the warmth in her skin than any fear of falling or need for balance. There was nothing bad about Doc touching her, ever. "Thanks. See you soon, Doc."

"We'll be right back." Hauser sent a look towards Lucy and gestured Doc out the door in front of him. The look was the strangest combination of warmth and 'I hope you know what you're doing'.

Rebecca sank her teeth into her lip until the sound of footsteps got far enough away. "You see it too, don't you, Lucy? Something's wrong."

"Rebecca, sweetheart, I saw it when that man was holding a vigil in the waiting room." Lucy took her hand with a shaking of her head. "For a man who's desperate for answers, he didn't care at all about the last key. You were so much more important to him."

"He's pulling away, hiding from me this morning." She knew the words were in her throat before her brain had fully processed them. "I can't let him go. I need him."

Lucy's lips curved again. But this smile held warmth and hope bright enough that Rebecca felt the muscles in her back start the slow process of relaxing. "That shouldn't be a problem, dear. That man's crazy about you."

000


End file.
